MSU Men's Basketball Signs Adam Ballinger to Scholarship

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Adam Ballinger, a 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward from Bluffton, Indiana, has signed a national letter of intent to attend Michigan State next fall and play for the 1998-99 Spartan men's basketball team. The announcement was made by MSU head coach Tom Izzo this afternoon.

Ballinger averaged 18.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots per game as a junior for his Bluffton High School squad and helped that squad to a 17-5 won-lost mark, the school's best record in 27 seasons. A member of the Bloomington Herald Times All-State Team in 1996 97, Ballinger captured a spot on the first team in Hoosier Magazine's 1997-98 Preseason All-State Team.

A two-time first-team selection to conference and sectional teams, Ballinger was a member of the Indiana Junior All-Star Team last summer, while his AAU team, Bloomington Red, finished runner-up in the national competition this past summer.

"We are excited about Adam joining the MSU program," said Izzo. "He has size, strength, scoring ability and is a big guy who can play a couple of different positions.

"His versatility on offense really impressed me. He can score from the outside and down low. He has been well coached in high school and we hope that he can have a real fine senior season."